Essays in Natural History and AgricultureGarnett, Thomas
Science
Essays in Natural History and Agriculture
Garnett, Thomas
Agriculture; Salmon; Zoology
I [Jeremiah Garnett, brother of the writer, and editor of the
"Manchester Guardian,"] having noticed the communications on this
subject which have recently appeared in your columns, am desirous
of mentioning a fact which appears to me to throw some light upon
the localities in which Eels are bred, though it leaves the
question of the mode of generation precisely where it stood
before.
Like your correspondent T. G., I have many times seen columns of
small Eels ascending the Ribble and other rivers in the months of
May and June, at considerable distances from the sea, but only on
one occasion have I seen them under circumstances which evidently
brought them near the place of their nativity.
I happened to be attending the Lancaster Spring Assizes in the
month of March in the year 1826, and learning that there was a
remarkably high tide in the estuary of the Lune, I walked down to
the riverside about the time of high water, and found that the
tide had covered the grass in many places; and as it began to ebb,
I observed something moving in every small hollow which had been
overflowed, and in which a little water had been left behind. On
examination I found that the moving bodies were exceedingly
diminutive Eels, rather less, to the best of my recollection, than
three-quarters of an inch long, and almost transparent, but
exhibiting in every respect the true form of the mature Eel. They
had evidently followed the water to its extreme verge, where it
could not have been more than an inch deep, and that they must
have been very numerous was clear from the large numbers which
were left behind and had perished--for that they did perish I
found on the following day, when they were lying dead on the grass
by hundreds. Some of your correspondents who reside in localities
favourable for making observations on this subject may be induced
to pay attention to it; the exact appearance may be ascertained,
with probably other facts calculated to throw light on the obscure
question of their generation.
* * * * *
ON THE POSSIBILITY OF INTRODUCING SALMON INTO NEW ZEALAND AND
AUSTRALIA.
_October_, 1859.
The colonists of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand appear to
wish for the introduction of Salmon and Trout into the rivers of
these colonies, and one of them, Tasmania, is said to have offered
the reward of L500 for the first pair of live Salmon which reaches
that colony. If this is true it is a liberal offer, and one that
is likely to induce various persons, both in England and France,
to make the attempt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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